Spearheading the resurgence of Japanese men’s volleyball, captain and star attacker Yuki Ishikawa has reason to believe his team can end their 52-year absence from the Olympic podium with a gold medal in Paris this summer.
The 28-year-old outside hitter has played in Italy’s Serie A since 2014, debuting while still in university, and has been the talisman for a Japanese men’s program that faced uncertainty after missing both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and only qualifying in 2021 as the Tokyo Games host.
Japan’s Yuki Ishikawa serves against Iran during a volleyball Nations League match at Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, on June 4, 2024. (Kyodo)
Ishikawa, who instigated overseas moves for countrymen including Ran Takahashi and Yuji Nishida, led Japan to the Nations League bronze last July for its first medal at a major tournament since 1977, scoring a tournament-high 275 points.
Having booked its Paris berth in October and reached No. 2 in the latest FIVB rankings behind Poland on the back of a silver medal at this year’s NL in June, Japan heads into the Olympics as a force to be reckoned with.
“We’ll get the gold medal. I think this is a team that should (at least) medal,” Ishikawa said.
Japan won bronze, silver and gold, respectively, in the first three Olympics since the sport’s 1964 debut in Tokyo, culminating with the championship in 1972 in Munich, but has not reached the podium once while appearing in just half of the 12 subsequent summer games.
But on top of a new generation with overseas experience, who make up half the 12-man Paris squad, head coach and former France player Philippe Blain has put together a well-oiled Japan team ahead of a return to his homeland.
Tactical awareness in attack, defensive combination and discipline have all been instilled since his days as Japan assistant coach, starting in 2017.
After the host went out of the Tokyo Games with a 3-0 loss to Brazil in the quarterfinals, Japan’s best finish since coming sixth in 1992, Blain took over the head coach post, and his team’s rise has been eye-catching ever since.
Japan’s Yuki Ishikawa (C) celebrates during a volleyball Nations League match against Canada at Lodz, Poland, on June 27, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Volleyball World)(Kyodo)
At a time when Japan’s seventh-ranked women raised their own medal hopes after also finishing runner-up in their Nations League, Ishikawa feels now is time for his team to deliver, three summers after his Olympic debut.
“That was the first step. I recall it only with frustration,” the new Sir Safety Perugia player said. “We’ll come up with a result (this time). That’s the resolve I’m taking into these Olympics.”
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